Football Fans Consider Alternatives to Vegas Sportsbooks for the NCAA/NFL Season Ahead

It seems like only yesterday that Jameis Winston became the first freshman to win the Heisman and the National Championship, and the Seattle Seahawks began Super Bowl XLVIII with the fastest scoring play (a safety!) in Super Bowl history. In just a few short months, football returns, and with it hundreds of games that could make history (Image courtesy of Wiki Commons/Moe Epsilon).

The start of the football season is also the time that fans journey to Las Vegas to get their bets in for Week 1, futures, regular season over/under wins, etc. And while nothing compares to the Las Vegas strip, a quick look at these sportsbook reviews reveals that there are also plenty of ways to bet on the action online.

With that in mind, here are a few storylines that fans and sportsbooks (both brick & mortar and online) will watch closely in the upcoming college and NFL football seasons:

The New College Football Playoffs
In the NCAA, Famous Jameis returns to Tallahassee to lead the Florida State Seminoles on their defense of the National Championship. But if Winston and the ‘Noles do return to the title game, they’ll first have to navigate the brand new College Football Playoff system featuring an elimination bracket system.

Johnny Football
Last season’s big college star, the inimitable Johnny Manziel, will take his talents to Cleveland after he fell all the way to no. 22 in the NFL Draft. Newly-signed and with a massive chip on his shoulder, Johnny Football will be on a mission to prove those doubters wrong and show that he is a legitimate NFL quarterback. Will Manziel truly impact sportsbook odds for Cleveland’s chances in the play-offs or was his position in the draft apt to a mediocre future?

Peyton Manning’s Revenge
Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos were flat out humiliated by the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII, making all of their record-breaking accomplishments seem irrelevant. With Manning nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career, the Broncos reloaded in free agency to go all-in on one last run at the championship. Many fans still have the Broncos as an odds on favorite to take the Super Bowl in 2015 even if sportsbooks both on the strip and online do not, yet.